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believe it or not

Idioms  

  1. It's true, whether or not you agree, as in Believe it or not, I finally finished painting the house. Originating in the 1800s, this phrase gained currency as the title of a cartoon series begun in 1918 by Robert Ripley and continuing to run in American newspapers long after his death in 1949. Each drawing presented a strange but supposedly true phenomenon, such as a two-headed chicken.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A faculty study agrees with many of academia’s critics, believe it or not.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026

Many of my friends, believe it or not, they worked in GE for their whole lives.

From Slate • Feb. 21, 2026

Posting on social media, he said: "At my birth, believe it or not was Jamie Bigg. So in 2026, I'll be reclaiming my birth name and making some big changes."

From BBC • Jan. 1, 2026

But the differences between the two men and their historical moments are just as important and, believe it or not, they offer reasons for optimism.

From Salon • Oct. 26, 2025

"No more than your shouting is going to attract anyone up here where there isn't anyone. It doesn't matter if I believe it or not, that's just the way things are. How's your hand?"

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.